Escape device



INVENTOR. 7 L. )We r 8 r May 31, 1949.

LE ROY L. WERNER ESCAPE DEVICE- 2 Shets-Sheet 2 Filed April 4, 1945 Patented May 31 1949 UNITED STATES PATENT ZA'ZlAt? OFFICE ESCAPE DEVICE -.Le Roy L. Werner, Washington, D. C.

Application Apr-i1 4, 1945, Serial No. 586,617

4 Claims.

(Granted underthe' act of March 3, 1883', as-

amended April 30, 1928;.370-0. G. 757:)

-of' the door andthe operation of the latch,l'ock, 'or" other securing device.

It is a primary object of the invention'to provide a release mechanism operable from the interior of the receptacle, and which is associated with thedoor lock or latch in such manner that the operation of the release device will render the locking means ineffective.

Another object of the invention resides in the provision of a removable panel or plate on the door, on which is mounted one of the elements of the lock or latch, and means accessible from the interior of the container for releasing the plate and thereby render the lock ineffective.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which,

Figure l is an elevational view of a door with one of the escape devices installed therein.

Figure 2 is a sectional view taken on line 2-2 of Figure 4, looking in the direction of the arrows.

Figure 3 is an interior elevational view of the escape device, and

Figure 4 is an enlarged vertical sectional view taken on line 4-4 of Figure 1.

Referring to the drawings in greater detail, the numeral indicates a portion of the wall of a commercial refrigerator, safe or other container of sufficient size to permit the entry of attendants. Numeral 2 indicates a door mounted upon vertically spaced hinges 3 and provided with a conventional latch 5 and keeper 6, the former cooperating through its shaft 5' with latch element 5".

In the embodiment shown, the escape device is shown as installed in a refrigerator and consequently the door is relatively thick to provide space for such heat insulating material as may be necessary. Within this space is mounted a wood block I to the front face of which is attached a circular casing or bracket member 8 which encircles the area surrounding the location nf the kar-mer B. The outer wall of the door 2 is 2. plate the keeper 6 is supportedand may be welded thereto-or otherwise connectcd as desired. Projecting from the "inner surface of the panel II] are a centrally disposed bolt II and pins l2 adapted to be'passed through closely fitting apertures in the bodyof thedoorto prevent rotation of the plate.

Between the'plate IU and the'outer face of the door 2is inserted'a-gasket I3, and an arched plate M is mounted upon the bolt H and pins l2 as indicated in Figure i". Thebolt H is threaded on itsinner end for thereceptionof'a wingnut or the like I 5 which servesto draw the plate [4 toward the plate l0 to'thereby clamp the keeper element 6 in its operative position on the outer face of the door. The plate W maybe provided with finger openings It to permit ready removal of the plate when necessary.

The block 1 is provided with a central opening in line with the securing means for the keeper or latch element 6 so as to permit access to -these elements from the interior of the refrigerator or other container. This opening is indicated by the numeral I! which may be closed by a plug of insulating material I8, and in conjunction with the opening 9 and circular casing 8 provides an elongated passage extending from the exterior to the interior of the container. A gasket l9 forms a seal between the plug [8 and the block I and a pivoted handle 20 on the plug is provided with offset extensions 2| adapted to enter slots 22 in a rim 23 so as to provide a bayonet joint connection for the plug.

In the operation of the escape device, a person locked within the refrigerator or other container, either accidentally or by design, could readily obtain his release by merely removing the plug [8, and then removing the Wing nut l5 and arched plate HIv With these parts removed it is readily apparent that the plate ll] which supports the keeper 6 may be moved outwardly, thereby operating the latch member 5 and permitting the door to be opened by pressure from within the container I.

While in the specific embodiment shown the keeper or latch member 6 is mounted upon the removable plate I 0 on the door, it will be quite obvious that the invention is not so limited inasmuch as the keeper could be placed upon the body portion Raf the receptacle in a reversal of the latch mechanism.

In accordance with the patent statutes, I have described What I now consider to be the preferred may be made in the details of construction and the relation of the parts without departing from the spirit of the invention, and it is accordingly intended that all such variations be included within the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. An escape device for containers comprising a body portion and a door, said container provided with an elongated passage extending to the interior and exterior thereof, an imperforate 1 vided with an elongated passage extending to the interior and exterior thereof, an imperforate panel mounted on the outside of the container and closing the outer end of said passage, a bolt fixed to the inner face of the panel and extending into the passage, a latch element on the exterior face of the panel, and means wholly within the passage for cooperating with the bolt to clamp the imperforate panel in operative position.

3. An escape device for a container comprising a body portion and a door, said container provided with an elongated passage extending to the interior and exterior thereof, an imperforate panel mounted on the outside of the container and closing the outer end of said passage, a bolt fixed to the inner face of the panel and extending into the passage, cooperating means on the panel and container wall to prevent rotation of the former, a latch element on the exterior face of the panel, and means wholly within the passage for cooperating with the bolt to clamp the imperforate pane1 in operative position.

4. An escape device for a container comprising a body portion and a door, said container provided with an elongated passage extending to the interior and exterior thereof, an imperforate panel mounted on the outside of the container and closing the outer end of said passage, a bolt fixed to the inner face of the panel and extending into the passage, cooperating means on the panel and container wall to prevent rotation of the former, a latch element on the exterior face of the panel, an arched plate provided with a central perforation mounted in the passage with the bolt extending through its perforation, and a nut threaded to the inner end of the bolt and engaging the inner face of the arched plate to draw the panel into operative position.

LE ROY L. WERNER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 638,574 Greger Dec. 5, 1899 692 231 Bingham Feb, 4, 1902 779,173 Merritt Jan. 3. 1905 1136,1 11 Kelley Apr. 20, 1915 2,077,140 Brantingson Apr. 13, 1937 2,089,163 Hansen Aug. 3, 1937 

